As a follow-up to yesterday’s 1970 Chicago concert, here is a mini 1970 documentary on Chicago from the NBC video news magazine “First Tuesday”. I think you will like it……
In my Chicago posts over the past few days I have intentionally avoided one topic that needs to be addressed. Terry Kathy, the amazingly talented Chicago guitarist, died in early 1978 from an unintentionally self-inflicted gunshot wound. It was a senseless and tragic loss for the band and for music in general. The details are provided below (thanks to Wikipedia for this information)…..
Around 5 p.m., on January 23, 1978, after a party at roadie and band technician Don Johnson’s home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, Kath took an unloaded .38 revolver and put it to his head, pulling the trigger several times on the empty chambers. Johnson had warned Kath several times to be careful. Kath then picked up a semiautomatic 9 mm pistol and, leaning back in a chair, said to Johnson, “Don’t worry, it’s not loaded”. To assuage Johnson’s concerns, Kath showed the empty magazine to Johnson. Kath then replaced the magazine in the gun, put the gun to his temple, and pulled the trigger. However, there was a round in the chamber, and Kath died instantly. Kath was one week short of his 32nd birthday. He left a widow, Camelia Emily Ortiz (whom he married in 1974; she would later marry actor Kiefer Sutherland), and a daughter, Michelle, born in 1976.
RIP Terry!